Le’Veon Bell rumors: 5 best fits in NFL free agency

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

As Bell gets set to become a free agent again, the Steelers still hold a lot of cards. Placing the franchise tag on him for a second straight year would control Bell’s status for 2018, even with a potential “tag and trade” scenario, so a return to Pittsburgh is the most likely development this offseason.

Bell has, as previously mentioned, backed off his threat to retire or sit out next season if he was franchise tagged again and replaced it with optimism about contract talks. Most recently, he has stated a priority of guaranteed money in a new deal.

"Yeah, a lot of it is about the guarantees,” he said. “That’s what a long-term deal really is, you know? You want that security. That’s why I said I’ll play on the tag. All that’s going to be guaranteed. You want to tag me again, OK, all that’s going to be guaranteed. That’s how I kind of look at it because I don’t want sign a long-term deal and everybody says I signed for $70 million but only the first year is guaranteed. So the first $17 million that you make in that year that’s the only year that’s guaranteed…"

When asked about a hypothetical contract offer from the Steelers with $50 million guaranteed, Bell was definitive.

“50 guaranteed? Absolutely,”

Bell held out through the entire 2017 offseason, before signing his franchise tag just before Week 1. That was well within his right and the leverage he could exercise again this year, but Bell has said he plans to be at training camp.

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If a long-term deal is deemed to be far off, and the franchise tag is not considered an option for some reason, the Steelers could go into free agency or the draft to find a replacement for Bell. But replacing the league’s best running back would not be easily done, and the fit for both sides is almost too easy.